Photo: Mikkel Kaldal

Refuge
2022

Refuge

Refuge is an art exhibition that arose out of a cross-aesthetic, cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional collaboration between the venue Radar in Aarhus and the art bunker Regelbau 411 in Thyholm, called “Dialogue across spaces”. The idea for the project began in 2021 during the covid-19 pandemic, which led to major shutdowns of cultural life, which created challenges around the development and implementation of everything from concerts til performances and large exhibitions around the country.

Radar and Regelbau 411 came together with the aim of creating a new format for artistic production and presentation, working across artistic and institutional practices.

The new format is shown in the exhibition Refuge, which was created in a collaboration between artist Signe Klejs and composer Christian Windfeld. The exhibition is two-part and consists of an installation at Radar and an installation at the art bunker Regelbau 411. In the search for overlap between the two institutions, a narrative is found that binds the two places together. The pervasive element is reinforced concrete, which surrounds the cave-like spaces, where people can seek shelter in a chaotic world. The exhibition points to meditation and the ritual as spiritual spaces where visitors can seek refuge in peace and contemplation.

The primary materials in the exhibition are sand in interaction with the metal in form of cymbals, gong gong, stands and the reinforced concrete. The exhibition is an exploration of how the materials affect each other. On Radar, five cymbals are positioned between each other in dim lighting. They are activated by a thin stream of sand from the ceiling, which lands in a small pile at the foot of the stand. In the meeting of sand with the cymbal, a resounding, low-frequency, metallic droning passage is projected, which encircles the entire installation. A hundred kilometers away in the art bunker Regelbau 411, this is reflected in a large round sand mosaic lying on the floor in one of the exhibition rooms. The same resounding tone sounds from the sand mosaic, which activates each individual grain of sand. In the other exhibition room there is a round metal gong gong which is expected to emit the same tone. Here the silence is so resounding that the distance between the two institutions dissolves and the exhibition is linked together.

The exhibition is supported by Central Jutland Region Culture Fund, Aarhus Culture Development Fund, Music City 2022, Danish Art Foundation and The Obel Family Fund.

Photo: Mikkel Kaldal

Photo: Mikkel Kaldal

Photo: Mikkel Kaldal

Photo: Mikkel Kaldal

Photo: Mikkel Kaldal

Photo: Mikkel Kaldal